DATE OF INTERVIEW:

ACT OF DEFIANCE

12th November 2015

METAL DISCOVERY: Congratulations on your debut album, ‘Birth and the Burial’, which seems to have received so many positive reactions. That must be very gratifying?

CHRIS: Extremely!!!! It has been a long time since I was able to release music that I have had a real creative hand in and it's great to know that people enjoy and know the kind of music that I come up with.

(Chris Broderick on Act of Defiance's debut album, 'Birth and the Burial')

"It has been a long time since I was able to release music that I have had a real creative hand in..."

Interview by Joshua Jaeger

RELATED LINKS

Official Act of Defiance Twitter:

ACT OF DEFIANCE DISCOGRAPHY

Birth and the Burial (2015)

Albums

Fresh out of Megadeth last year following a seven year spell playing guitar for the thrash titans, ex-Jag Panzer/Nevermore axeman Chris Broderick wasted no time in allying with his former comrade in said band, sticksman Shawn Drover, to form a new metal entity under the moniker Act of Defiance. Recruiting Shadows Fall bassist Matt Bachand and onetime Scar The Martyr vocalist Henry Derek to complete the lineup, the quartet unleashed their debut album, 'Birth and the Burial', on Metal Blade earlier this year. Described in press blurb as offering up "100% in-your-face, uncompromising metal", the album skilfully mixes up thrash motifs with Scandinavian flavours and a modern American dynamic, to devastatingly heavy effect. Chris answered a few questions for Metal Discovery on his new metal home...

Act of Defiance - promo shot

Photograph copyright © 2015 Uncredited

CHRIS BRODERICK

Official Act of Defiance Facebook:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Andy Turner for arranging the interview.

MD: Having spent a large chunk of time in the studio recording the album, what would you say is the most rewarding part of the entire process?

CHRIS: For me, it's really about hearing your ideas come together in a cohesive manor along with the proud feeling of creating a song that you feel really captured what I am visualizing it should be.

MD: What was the least enjoyable or most gruelling?

CHRIS: Trying to make something technically difficult happen that was conceived in your head… ahahahaha. It's one thing to hear an idea and another to bring it to life on your instrument; sometimes, this takes a lot of practice before you can even record what you are thinking.

MD: Can you elaborate on the overall experience from working on demos and song writing within the band, then moving onto production with Zuess? Was it a long process from start to finish?

CHRIS: No. Actually, the process was quite fast but the best thing about it was how all of our parts came together. In the demos it sounded like 4 individuals coming together with our ideas but, by the time Zuess got involved, he brought everything together and really make it sound like a unified piece of music.

MD: Were there any differences of opinion on how a song turned out from when you initially were writing?

CHRIS: Absolutely. Sometimes, a song has a mind of its own and you have to just sit back and follow it to see where it wants to go. By this, I mean that you can think you know where a song should go but, after trying it, the idea might not work out.

MD: With the North American co-headlining tour with Allegaeon coming up in October, what are some dates/locations that you are most looking forward to?

CHRIS: Denver, of course, that is where I am from and I still have a ton of friends and family there. It will not only be a great time to hang with them, but to play to my home town!!!

MD: Do you like to experiment with already released songs at live performances or do you mostly stick to how they were recorded and mixed for the album?

CHRIS: I tend to stick to how they are recorded. The way I see it, as soon as you release a piece of music it is no longer yours and now belongs to the public, and I would assume that they want to hear the song they know. With that being said, I think there are cool things you can do live, like trying to get them to sing along or become a part of it in some way.

MD: What are some experiences or lessons learned that you came away from with your time in Megadeth, and what would you say is your favourite memory with being a member of that band?

CHRIS: The biggest lesson I learned from being in that band was, be the master of your destiny. My favorite memory will always be the first Big 4 show in Warsaw, Poland. It was so overwhelming, seeing 120 thousand people screaming, and being able to get on stage at the end of the show and jam with all of these iconic Thrash musicians.

MD: Who would you say is a dream vocal act that you would like to write a song for in the future?

CHRIS: I would say it would have been Lane Staley. He wasn't the most technical singer, nor had the widest range, but his voice was so unique and had so much character that he would be my choice.

MD: I’ve read that Act of Defiance is more than just a collection of artists that came together to create a ‘project band’ or supergroup and that you are focusing much of your attention to it as a solid unit for the long haul. Can you tell us what is in store for the future of AoD?

CHRIS: AoD is a full-fledged band and not just a project. We see a long term future and are already looking at 2016 touring and planning out our next CD.

MD: Thank you for the interview, we really appreciate this! Do you have anything else to add for our rabid readers?

CHRIS: I just want to thank all of them for the support they have offered and we hope to see them on tour soon!!!!!